WELCOME BACK: Fall River Football Challenge returns

After a one-year hiatus, the Fall River Football Challenge is back in action. The free football event for local middle schoolers and high schoolers was pushed inside the Luke Urban Field House on Friday afternoon because of inclement weather, but the routine remained the same.

After a one-year hiatus, the Fall River Football Challenge is back in action.

The free football event for local middle schoolers and high schoolers was pushed inside the Luke Urban Field House on Friday afternoon because of inclement weather, but the routine remained the same.

Cris Borges, who co-founded the FRFC with the late Jason Cummings, brought the challenge back after suffering through the deaths of two people very close to him a year ago.

“Last year my mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and I had to be with her,” said Borges. “After she passed away, I reached out to Jay to see if we wanted to put it together quickly, but his words to me were he did not want to rush it. He wanted to do it right. He said for me to take some time to clear my mind and we would give it a break for a year.”

Then in late August of last year, Cummings passed away unexpectedly.

“When Jay passed, a lot of people reached out to me and asked me if they could help get it going again,” Borges said. “It took me a little while, but I wanted to do whatever I could to get it going. I was stressed trying to plan it without Jay, but I had help from a lot of people. I think it’s very important to bring it back. I lost it a little bit when I was talking to the kids earlier.”

The FRFC opened with Borges addressing the group of nearly 50 participants before former NFL players Will Ford and Ryan Powdrell stressed the importance of education to the group.

After the speeches, the group broke up into six different stations to work on drills specific to their position.

Watching the action was new Durfee football coach Taylor Brown, who said he was happy to see the FRFC back in action.

“It’s great to have it back,” said Brown, a Durfee graduate who spent last season as an assistant coach at Bishop Connolly. “It offers an opportunity for younger players to come out and show what they’ve got.”

Borges said the turnout was a bit low this year compared to others, but he said that may have had a lot to do with the rain.

He also said that even though it’s football that brings the kids to the event, the FRFC’s goal is to help them beyond the football field.

“The true meaning of this is to help these kids make the right choices both on and off the field,” Borges said.

Mike Thomas is the sports editor of The Herald News. Email him at mthomas@heraldnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @NostraThomasHN